Rehoboth receives $70K state grant for Goff Hall renovation project

Tuesday

Jul 8, 2014 at 11:24 PMJul 8, 2014 at 11:34 PM

Marc Larocque Enterprise Staff Writer @Enterprise_Marc

The Rehoboth Antiquarian Society secured a $70,000 grant to make Goff Memorial Hall handicapped-accessible, with a proposal to build new bathrooms on the main floor and to improve access to the lower level of the building.

“We have a facility that isn’t conducive for access for a certain segment of our population,” said Tom Charnecki, president of the organization, which owns the building. “We want to make it available for all and not just the able-bodied. … Goff Hall is kind of a main focal point in the community.”

The $70,000 goes toward a $330,000 project to upgrade the nearly 100-year-old building in Rehoboth.

Gov. Deval Patrick heralded $14 million in Massachusetts Cultural Council grants with a celebration in Pittsfield on Monday. The grants comprise 81 projects that are intended to expand education and access to the arts.

“Through this new round of funding, we are continuing to create a more vibrant place for our students to learn, our families to live and our businesses to grow,” Patrick said in a statement.

Goff Hall, located on Bay State Road, houses the Blanding Public Library and a large meeting hall, which is often used by nonprofit organizations and for community gatherings. The building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is named after Darius Goff, a major textile manufacturer who was born in Rehoboth in 1809. The existing building was constructed in 1915, a quarter century after the original Goff Holl was built, only to be struck by lightning and burn to the ground in 1911.

“This is long-needed, with all the events we have there,” Charnecki said. “The elderly people or people with disabilities aren’t able to use it. There are no restroom facilities that are accessible for them. … Also, the children’s library, which is in the basement level, does not have handicapped accessibility. This will open that up for them too. It’s a necessity.”

Much of the problem is because the only bathrooms in the building are located downstairs and are just 2 feet wide and 8 feet long. There is also no elevator or ramp to get from the top to the bottom floor. Charnecki said the solution to access to the bottom floor will be an addition to the back of the building, including a new entrance with a ground level ramp.

Charnecki said that the Rehoboth Antiquarian Society has already raised about two-thirds of the $330,000 project cost, including $165,000 from taxpayers who approved the transfer from the town’s Community Preservation Act during the spring Town Meeting. The remaining approximately $95,000 will be raised through fundraisers, or the project will be reduced in size, Charnecki said.

The whole situation is also complicated by an upcoming Proposition 2½ override vote, which will have ramifications on operations at the public library. Several Rehoboth Selectmen and finance committee members have said that the library would likely close and town workers will be laid off if the $1.7 million override is not passed by the voters on July 15 in Rehoboth. However, the Community Preservation Act money is designated for such projects, and can’t be redirected to other town expenses besides investment in open space, support for affordable housing or preservation of historic buildings.

The need for the library upgrade project was first discussed around eight years ago when a townwide survey revealed that residents wanted the Blanding Public Library to remain in the building, Charnecki said. The progress from that is to make the building as functional as possible, but it wasn’t until recently that such funds were available, he said. But Charnecki said, the improvements have been needed for much longer.

“‘Why didn’t we do it 10 or 20 years ago?’ is probably a better question,” he said.

In addition to the Goff Hall grant, Patrick also announced the award of a $30,000 grant to the USS Massachusetts Memorial Committee in Fall River for a feasibility study for a major rebuilding project to create a new “museum standard facility” at Battleship Cove.

Patrons at the Blanding Memorial Library on Monday said that they were happy to hear about the grant and the project.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Muriel Cawthorn, a frequent guest at the library. “I think (the disabled and the elderly) have suffered in the past. Once you get inside, all the bathrooms are downstairs and there is no access to the downstairs besides stairs. And if you are handicapped, you can’t do that. I think it will be a great improvement.”

Craig Ford, who was using the computer at the library on Monday afternoon, noted that some voters might feel conflicted about the project as the town goes through a Proposition 2½ vote as well as the Wheeler Street Bridge project. But Ford said he understands the need to make the library more accessible.

“We’re kind of in a pickle right now and need to choose and pick,” Ford said. “We’ll see what the outcome is going to be. … They are talking about layoffs and a hearing for the Wheeler Street Bridge at the same time and a library addition, people are going to see that and have two different perspectives.”

Librarian Susan Robert said that the Goff Hall project is “absolutely” a worthy cause.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Robert said. “We are not handicapped-accessible and we should be. We have the grant, but we still need to fundraise the other part.”

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